One of the themes in this episode is, what does necessary killing mean? As we have seen, Übel looks at killing as a clear pleasure. If the opportunity presents itself to give herself a chance to kill, she will take it. Hell, she gets disappointed when Wirbel uses his binding spell.
While for Fern, we know that pulling the trigger to kill another person is something she can’t do. She is the type of person who has a more emotionless face with people she doesn’t know, so her lies are quite effective. We know she would never kill, especially if the results are the same. However, mages like Wirbel don’t know this.
For Wirbel he is interesting because he has the experience of a battle-hardened warrior. He knows that the world can be quite cruel. There are times when you need to kill. His view on killing is more logical, as sure, I could kill, but does it add anything to it? Can I achieve the same results without killing? In fact, Fern’s lie showcases he is truly a good guy at heart that would rather not kill. As he still could have killed Übel and checked on Ehre later. Granted, Fern’s threat felt real to his perspective.
Still, Wirbel’s initial motivation was very typical, as you can think. Basically trying to impress his childhood crush. Though we can tell how he must have evolved, where his principles became ingrained inside of him. Though, as Ehre points out, it’s true kindness even if Wirbel has trouble admitting it.
With Land, we don’t spend much time with him, as he has magic capable of making clones of himself. Not too much focus is given to him, but he takes care of Scharf and proceeds forward. He gives the feel of someone who aims for efficiency.
Genau’s remarks regarding this portion of the exam when Sense criticizes him are interesting. As those taking the exam might die, but he doesn’t care for that, as he wants to make sure those who become a first-class mage earn it. Which is quite cruel, as luck plays a factor. His point that luck is a skill is flawed. Who you utilize and minimize the randomization of luck is a skill, yes, but you can only manage the uncertainty of luck so much. For instance, who the players are paired with. For Übel and Land, they have great luck teaming up with Fern.
In the final part of this episode, we get the topic of killing for status. We know status is one thing Frieren could care less for, so we know her answer. Though Richter is more than willing to kill the girls for it because that would eliminate Frieren that way. Beating a mage of the skill of Frieren is a hard task for Denken and dealing with the girls would be easier. Though Richter mentions privilege, it seems what he cares more about is the wish that Serie would grant him. That wish is more than enough justification to kill him. What is his wish?
We can see that Denken strongly does not agree with what Richter says. His understanding is much closer to Frieren. It does make you curious why Denken is taking this exam. Could he be like Frieren and have an objective in mind that requires being a 1st-class mage?
This episode adapted chapters 41, 42, and 75% of chapter 43. It seems the animation so far in this arc hasn’t been as good as previous episodes. More than likely they aim to make the episode look good.